They call me Mrs. Coach.

I love it.

It’s a name badge that I wear with pride.

I love my hubby’s mission, I love the players, and I love football, too.

I bake treats for the team. I sit in the stands. I cheer loudly…really loudly.

But…

It’s not easy being Mrs. Coach.

No matter which way you diagram it, being the woman behind the Coach is a humbling job.

During the season, everything, and I mean everything of mine takes a back seat to football.

Because of Ben’s workload, all of the responsibility of taking care of 6 people falls on me: meals, laundry, groceries, cleaning, driving, bills, yard work, homework help, and more.

The buck stops with me.

Not a very glamorous job, but it’s manageable with lots of caffeine, Tylenol and Jesus.

I’m ALL IN…because I believe in what my husband is doing: Building Men For Others (BMFO).

I’m willing to sacrifice and serve for the sake of the call on his life.

But…

Sometimes I need an attitude adjustment during the season.

Especially when I get weary, negative thoughts start to creep into my heart:

This isn’t fair…

I do all the work…

If only people knew…

I have no time for myself…

I deserve…

I have to take my thoughts captive, lay them down at the feet of Jesus, and ask for his strength to continue to walk out my role. Because the truth is that I signed up for this job! I promised God that I would do whatever he asked of me to accomplish his will, no matter what. I offered to serve and sacrifice for his sake.

He took me up on my promise.

But…

Walking it out is way harder than making the promise was.

Being a servant is more difficult than I thought it would be.

The reality is that Coach gets the fun part: the glory of the Friday night lights, the thrill of the game, the roar of the crowd. He often gets the credit for changing lives by building men for others on the football field.

Not so much me.

There’s not a lot of glory in being Mrs. Coach. There’s just a lot of serving and sacrifice…for someone else’s glory. Being the one behind the scenes and not receiving recognition has been embarrassingly hard for me. And not always fun.

My struggle reveals my pride.

Pride I didn’t realize I still had. Pride that trips me up and slows me down.

But…

God offers amazing grace. He lovingly disciplines me and molds me until I start to look a little more like he does. He patiently forgives me every time I start to get selfish. He diligently sends his Spirit to empower me to keep going.

He supplies all I need according to his glorious riches.

With his help, I always make it through the day…through the week…through the season.

Always.

But…

It doesn’t end there.

The role of Mrs. Coach is a great metaphor for what it’s like to walk out my devotion to Christ.

To be humble.

To serve.

To sacrifice.

To bring glory to God.

To rely on the Spirit’s help.

To put others’ needs ahead of my own.

To give up all things self.

Seriously,

I have so far to go.

I didn’t realize I had so much in my heart that needed pruning.

So.Much.Pruning.

But…

I refuse to give up.

God’s not finished with me yet.

The best is yet to come and it’s worth pursuing.

A life of serving and sacrifice…for someone else’s glory.

I will serve God with all that I am.

And I wouldn’t trade the honor of Mrs. Coach for anything.